So, what does it take to make small particle, high PPM colloidal silver?
Without getting too crazy on specifics here, this is how it all works with every generator.

An electrical current is fed to one electrode which discharges silver ions that try to go through the water to the other electrode.
The gist of it is an attempt to prevent most of those ions from making it so they'll stay in the water. It's a lot more chemically complicated than that, but that's the general idea

ALL the silver released into water by any LVDC [Low Voltage Direct Current] and most HVAC [High Voltage Alternating Current] generators comes off the electrodes as ions. Ion: A single atom minus and electron. I have yet to see or hear of a silver generator that doesn't work that way.

More Voltage makes ions go faster and further.
More Current makes more ions go.

Ions are dissolved in solution with the water. Particles are crystals formed when the water/ion solution becomes super saturated.

In other words, water can hold just so many ions in solution before they start to drop out as crystals... much like making rock candy.

If the current is too high for the area of the electrode (current density), so many ions come off that they form a high concentration zone near the electrode, super saturating only that localized area, thus dropping large crystals out of that zone.

If the ion discharge rate is reduced, the ions can travel a bit and become hydrated with the water molecules. (In essence, ions become attached to and isolated from each other by water so they can't find each other to make big crystals)

As more and more ions get into the water, the water conducts electricity better and draws more and more current if the voltage is held constant, producing a FLOOD of ions after a while making bigger and bigger crystals. ["runaway"]
The way to control that current and keep it constantly keyed to the electrode area is to automatically lower that voltage as the water becomes more and more conductive. (Current control)

That conductivity has a relationship to PPM. They're not "exactly" the same thing, but close enough to be predictable and hundreds of times more accurate than using a clock. PPM: A ratio of Parts of silver, by weight, to parts of water.
IS MORE PPM REALLY BETTER?

PPM of colloidal silver needs to be understood in its entirety. PPM means parts per million. By definition 1 PPM is 1 milligram of silver deposited in 1 liter of water (1,000 ml) (1,000,000 mg). If one were to ingest that 1 mg. piece of silver, it would not do much good. If you were to divide that 1 mg. into 1,000,000 particles of silver, it would then have much more efficacy because it takes one particle of silver to disable 1 pathogen. The silver is now 1,000,000 times better than 1 piece of silver even though by definition it is still only 1 PPM. If one were to further divide the 1 mg piece of silver into 100,000,000 particles, it would be very beneficial indeed. And so as the silver is more finely divided the PPM by definition remains the same.

So, what really counts is not how many PPM the silver is but how many particles the silver has been divided into, That is why it isn't necessary to have high PPM but it IS important to divide the silver as finely as possible. To see how small the silver can be divided by our colloidal silver generators, please look at the electron microscope photos. It is not better to try to take high PPM colloidal silver but to take CS that is properly made. If you think more silver is necessary, just take more of better made low PPM colloidal silver and you will be further ahead than if you took poorly made, high PPM colloidal silver.

If the colloidal silver is properly made it will be crystal clear. This is because the particles are too small to reflect any light. If it shows any color, the particles are too large. The first color seen is yellow. As the particle size increases other colors such as red, green, blue, brown or black may be seen. Any color seen will indicate CS that is not very good
Will CS kill your good intestinal flora?

The short answer is: no, if your colon is healthy, you should not
need to worry about CS harming your intestinal flora. The long
answer below explains why.

Technically speaking, there is no such thing as "good bacteria"
and "bad bacteria". There are only bacteria that are where you want
them when you want them there, and bacteria that are where you don't
want them. CS is believed to kill ALL bacteria (and virii)
indiscriminately, provided that the Ag (silver) remains in a liquid
medium, and comes into direct contact with the bug.

The Ag in CS must remain in a liquid medium to be effective. That's
why CS generally doesn't affect the bacteria in the intestines; it's
usually not in liquid form by the time it gets there. Again, CS
cannot tell "good" bacteria from "bad" because there are no "good"
and "bad." Intestinal bacterial do help to control yeast growth and
participate in digestion and elimination of waste, but these same
bacteria can be "bad" if they grow elsewhere.

CS is only effective in killing bacteria as long as it remains in a
liquid medium. And under normal conditions, silver does not penetrate
more than a foot or so into the intestines in liquid form before most
liquid has been absorbed through the intestinal walls. By the time
matter reaches the lower digestive tract, most liquid has been
removed, leaving dry, albeit somewhat moist, waste matter.

Therefore, by the time any remaining silver reaches the colon, it is
no longer in a liquid medium, and is therefore relatively inert. But
hopefully, most of the Ag has already been absorbed into the
bloodstream. What little Ag is left should pass harmlessly out the
end of your digestive tract (he said, trying to be delicate).

Because of this, if your digestive system is in balance to begin
with, CS should not reach the acidophilus bacteria in your colon in a
state which would upset that balance.

If however, you have a condition, such as diarrhea, in which liquids
are present in the colon, then the colonic flora has already been
upset somehow. If this is the case, I would recommend trying CS to
help kill whatever it is that upset the balance, followed an hour
later by probiotics to set things right again. Do not take
probiotics at the same time as CS, because the CS will kill much of
the probiotics while in your stomach, before the probiotics get where
you want them.
Definitions

The following definitions will be used throughout this document:
EIS - Electrolytically isolated silver. This is what most people call colloidal silver, but is a combination of both colloidal and ionic silver.
CS- Colloidal silver. A colloid is a mixture of solid particles and a liquid. The particles are so small and support a charge, called the zeta potential, that they can stay suspended as a colloid indefinitely. With colloidal silver the particles of silver range from 2 atoms (.2 nm) to thousands of particles (100 or so nm) in size.

Ionic Silver - Silver compounds that disassociate when in water to form an Ag+ or Ag2+ cation and an anion. For EIS this will be a mixture of silver hydroxide [Ag2(OH)2] and silver oxide [Ag2O] and usually small amount of silver carbonate.
H2O2 - Hydrogen peroxide 3% grade

Particle - In this document a particle referes to a silver crystal suspended in water by mutual repulsion of a charge. Although an atom, molecule or ion could be called a particle, we are only using the term for silver crytals to avoid confusion.

ppm - parts per million, for EIS this is expressed in milligrams of silver per liter or water.

What is EIS

EIS is a combination of ionic silver and colloidal silver. It is typically about 90% ionic and 10% colloidal by weight, but can vary between 5% and 20% colloidal depending on how it is made.

There are two general methods of making EIS. The easiest method is to use pure silver electrodes (silver strips or wire) and apply a DC voltage between them. These are inserted into distilled water and the process is allowed to run until the desired ppm of the EIS is reached. This is the LVDC
Color:

Any color other than violet , red or green is OK. No color is best.

Various environmental factors and contaminants can make CS turn colors.
Adding 1 drop 3% Hydrogen Peroxide per 4-8 oz to colored CS breaks the particles apart and clears out the color. Using less takes longer.
Many people say that adding Peroxide to any CS makes it work better, but don't "start" a batch with CS that has Peroxide in it.
What happens to EIS when taken internally?

Since there are two components to EIS, then two different things happen.

The colloidal portion diffuses through the stomach wall rather quickly and enters the blood stream as long as the particles are small enough.

The ionic portion is a combination of silver hydroxide and silver oxide. While in solution they continually convert from one to the other and back again. Each has a solubility of about 13 ppm, so any EIS which is less than about 26 ppm and a pH of 7 will be totally dissolved. Upon contact with the HCl (hydrochloric acid) of the stomach both of these compounds will immediately form silver chloride. The silver chloride has a solubility of .8 ppm, so most of the silver chloride will precipitate out, but the remaining part will quickly move into the blood stream. As it does, that which precipitated will redissolve and move into the blood stream as well. The end result is that most of the silver chloride will move into the blood stream over time, but at a lower rate than the colloidal portion.

Once it is in the blood stream it is exposed to the same effects we discussed for silver compounds above. Basically it will try to plate out on any silver particles it finds. Since there will be colloidal silver which already passed into the blood, there will be lots of particles for it to plate out on. So in short order the silver in the silver chloride plates out onto the colloidal particles already there, and they grow by a small amount. Typically for an EIS of 10% particulate content, the particles should grow to about double in size. This is insufficient to cause them to get caught up into tissues, and they eventually get removed by the kidneys.

So, as it turns out. colloidal silver is actually a prophylactic against argyria, instead of a cause as some would have you believe.

What Is Ionic Silver?

Technically speaking, a silver ion is an atom of silver that is missing one electron. The outermost electrons of an atom determine the physical properties of the matter. Take away one electron from a silver atom and you get a silver ion. Ionic silver is not the same as metallic silver, silver particles or colloidal silver.

The Difference Between Colloidal Silver And Ionic Silver

Colloidal silver is made up of tiny nanoparticles of metallic silver. The particles are complete and do not combine with other elements. In its ionic form, silver is highly reactive with other elements, and will readily combine to form compounds. Inside the human body chloride is the most prevalent anion. Silver ions will immediately combine with chloride to form an insoluble compound of silver chloride.

The difference between silver ions and silver particles boils down to the fact that silver ions combine with chloride ions to form silver chloride and silver particles do not.

This simple fact should be kept in mind when reading claims that silver ions are particles. If a silver ion were a particle, it would not combine with chloride. For a more technical discussion about the differences between ions and particles, see Ions, Atoms and Charged Particles.

Why Is This Important?

Silver chloride is a compound that is formed when silver ions combine with chloride ions. It is an insoluble compound which means once it is formed in the human body, it does not dissolve. Silver ions and chloride ions have such a strong attraction for each other that it is virtually impossible to keep them apart. Once they find each other, they form the silver chloride compound. All ionic silver will turn into silver chloride once inside the body because of the readily available supply of chloride ions in many different forms.

Silver chloride is an insoluble salt that does not dissolve inside the body once it has formed. Silver chloride is eliminated by the kidneys and expelled through the urine. The authors believe that only the portion of silver content contained in the particles will remain effective in the body.

Typical ionic silver products contain between 3 and 20 ppm of ionic silver which would not cause argyria.

Ingestion of highly concentrated forms of ionic silver (100 ppm and above) may cause argyria, a permanent discoloration of the skin.

The real facts on colloidal silver

(Please note that this page is actively updated when new information becomes
available and any errors found are corrected) , so check back at:
http://silver-lightning.com/theory.html#Ionic

There is much information, and unfortunately misinformation, on colloidal
silver. I will attempt to set the record straight in this document. Absolutely
no funding was received for the creation of this document, I have researched the
information, run experiments, and am writing this document for the benefit of
mankind. Reproduction of this document is permitted as long as credit is given
and a link to this url is provided so that any corrections or updates to the
document can be easily found by others.

EIS - Electrolytically isolated silver. This is what most people call
colloidal silver, but is a combination of both colloidal and ionic silver.CS- Colloidal silver. A colloid is a mixture of solid particles and a
liquid. The particles are so small and support a charge, called the zeta
potential, that they can stay suspended as a colloid indefinitely. With
colloidal silver the particles of silver range from 2 atoms (.2 nm) to thousands
of particles (100 or so nm) in size.Ionic Silver - Silver compounds that dissociate when in water to form an
Ag+ or Ag2+ cation and an anion. For EIS this will be a mixture of silver
hydroxide [Ag2(OH)2] and silver oxide [Ag2O] and usually small amount of silver
carbonate.H2O2 - Hydrogen peroxide 3% gradeLVDC - Low voltage direct current (even when using polarity switching)HVAC - High voltage alternating currentParticle - In this document a particle referes to a silver crystal
suspended in water by mutual repulsion of a charge. Although an atom, molecule
or ion could be called a particle, we are only using the term for silver crytals
to avoid confusion.ppm - parts per million, for EIS this is expressed in milligrams of
silver per liter or water.

EIS is a combination of ionic silver and colloidal silver. It is typically
about 90% ionic and 10% colloidal by weight, but can vary between 5% and 20%
colloidal depending on how it is made.

There are two general methods of making EIS. The easiest method is to use
pure silver electrodes (silver strips or wire) and apply a DC voltage between
them. These are inserted into distilled water and the process is allowed to run
until the desired ppm of the EIS is reached. This is the LVDC method.

The second method uses HVAC, typically 10,000 volts at 60 hertz once again in
distilled water. To maintain the voltage with reasonable currents the electrodes
can be either placed just above the water, so that the electrostatic field pulls
the water up to the electrodes, or they can be placed inside of insulating glass
tubes so that only the tip of the wire is exposed and submerged in the water. We
will not be discussing the HVAC method any more since it is more difficult to
build, operate, and has deadly voltages, plus if not done proplery will produce
nitrogen compounds.

The basic method of taking from one to 3 nine volt batteries and hooking up
two electrodes placed into distilled water works, but has some major
limitiations. First the initial conductivity of the water is very low, but as
ionic silver is produced increases.

Since increased conductivity increases the current, EIS is produced faster as
time goes on. The result is basically an exponential where the conductivity
increases exponentionally, and the production (integral of the current) will
also increase exponentially. This creates two problems, the first is that the
appropriate brew time for a certain ppm will vary widely depending on the
initial conductivity and temperature, and second the the high currents toward
the end causes an excessive increase in the particle size of the colloidal
portion, making the brew less than optimum for both stability as well as
effectiveness. Brewing a good quality EIS of over 5 or so ppm is almost
impossible with this simple setup.

The best EIS is made by using a constant current source where the current is
equal to 1 mA per square inch of anode material. For 14 guage wire about 5
inches of length is 1 square inch. Secondly it is best to limit the
concentration of the colloid at any point, so it is best to stir it as well.
Although the stirring can be gentle, the closer the electrodes are to each
other, the more vigorous it should be. Stirring can be accomplished by placing a
Christmas light bulb under the container, using a soda straw submerged into the
water attached to a motor, or an aquarium bubbler or pump. Using a light bulb to
generate thermal currents is likely the least expensive method to use, but will
result in a less optimum brew than using any of the other methods. Or one can
stir it by hand every few minutes if you don't mind being bored. It will
typically take an hour or more to make EIS of 10 ppm or so. Making EIS over 20
ppm becomes increasingly difficult so stick with less than 20 ppm.

The colloidal portion of the EIS is easily seen by using a laser pointer and
sending the beam through the water in a darkened room. If you can see the beam
then you have colloid. This is referred to as Tyndall. The ionic portion can be
measured with a dissolved solids meter, and a number of colloidal silver
generator sites sell those.

A more advanced system can be made by using a flow through process, where the
EIS is drained off and new distilled water is added continually. Also, during
electrolysis there will be a black buildup of silver powder on the cathode, and
brown silver oxide on the anode. Reversing the polarity of the voltage every
minute or so will cause these buildups to dissapate during the cycle. If you do
not reverse polarity during brewing, then the electrodes should be cleaned after
each use without using any soap or detergent.

If you do not use distilled water, or add a salt or other ionic component to
the water before brewing, then the time it takes to make something is greatly
reduced. However what you make will not be good. What happens is that instead of
making colloidal silver, you will make 100% silver chloride or other salts (from
the salt, or chlorine in the water, or silver fluoride from the fluoridation).
As the silver chloride builds up it begins precipitating out (it has a
solubility of only about .89 ppm). If you drink this you will not only not be
getting any colloidal silver, but will be getting a silver salt which by itself
can cause argyria. Stan Jones is a prime example of this happening, he was
making a witch's brew of silver compounds by not using distilled water.

A silver compound will typically become silver chloride as soon as it hits
the stomach. The silver chloride is sparingly soluble, about .8 ppm. The
dissolved silver chloride will move into the blood stream and once there will be
exposed to chemicals that will induce the silver to plate out on any other
silver particles present. However when silver compounds, such as silver chloride
or silver nitrate are taken initially there will be no other silver particles
present, so the silver chloride circulates in the blood until exposed to light
in the skin, where they are photo reduced to silver atoms. This is the
photographic process that occurs when you take a picture (with a film camera).
Once the silver atoms are produced in the skin, then the rest of the silver
chloride will begin reducing onto those particles making them grow very fast,
and resulting in many of them getting stuck in the skin. Since the particles are
so small, they will appear as black or blue, giving the skin a bluish cast. This
is called argyria, and can result from taking silver compounds without any
colloidal component. Applying silver compounds directly to the skin can incrase
the effect tremendously.

This was dramatically demonstrated by Paul Karason who the news media has
dubbed "The Blue Man". Although the news media has continally said that he was
taking colloidal silver, nothing could be further from the truth. Interviews
with him have determined that he not only was NOT taking colloidal silver, but
was following a protocol that would almost certainly lead to his condition. He
obviously did not read this report, since if he had, he surely would never have
done what he did. First he was adding sea salt to his distilled water, and was
not using any current limit. Thus what he was making was silver chloride, a
silver compound well known to cause argyria, NOT colloidal silver. He had NO
colloidal silver at all in his brew. Instead of being crystal clear, as properly
made colloidal silver is, he had so much silver chloride in it, that it looked
more like milk than water. It is likely that he had 100 ppm of silver or more in
his concoction, whereas 10 ppm is typical for normal CS. He did not limit
current, or do any of the things necessary to make a good colloid. This is
important, since argyria can only be expected when high levels of silver
SALTS are taken. On top of that he applied it directly to his skin,
effectively making his skin a photographic plate, and used tanning beds to "Fix"
the silver in his skin. Researchers such as myself have been warning people
about this for almsot 10 years now, long before people started reporting the
problem. Obviously he did not get the memo! I really don't think I could have
come up with a better protocol to turn blue. It is almost identical to a method
I had played with (in vitro) to produce tatoos by putting silver chloride on the
skin, and exposing to light via a template to produce a blue tatoo. To see just
what one can end up looking like if they ignore the information on the correct
way to make colloidal silver, and use silver compounds instead, look at a
picture of Paul.

Remember, silver compounds are great for making photographic paper, not for
taking internally or applying to the skin.

Since there are two components to EIS, then two different things happen.

The colloidal portion diffuses through the stomach wall rather quickly and
enters the blood stream as long as the particles are small enough.

The ionic portion is a combination of silver hydroxide and silver oxide.
While in solution they continually convert from one to the other and back again.
Each has a solubility of about 13 ppm, so any EIS which is less than about 26
ppm and a pH of 7 will be totally dissolved. Upon contact with the HCl
(hydrochloric acid) of the stomach both of these compounds will immediately form
silver chloride. The silver chloride has a solubility of .8 ppm, so most of the
silver chloride will precipitate out, but the remaining part will quickly move
into the blood stream. As it does, that which precipitated will redissolve and
move into the blood stream as well. The end result is that most of the silver
chloride will move into the blood stream over time, but at a lower rate than the
colloidal portion.

Once it is in the blood stream it is exposed to the same effects we discussed
for silver compounds above. Basically it will try to plate out on any silver
particles it finds. Since there will be colloidal silver which already passed
into the blood, there will be lots of particles for it to plate out on. So in
short order the silver in the silver chloride plates out onto the colloidal
particles already there, and they grow by a small amount. Typically for an EIS
of 10% particulate content, the particles should grow to about double in size.
This is insufficient to cause them to get caught up into tissues, and they
eventually get removed by the kidneys.

So, as it turns out. colloidal silver is actually a prophylactic against
argyria, instead of a cause as some would have you believe.

When H2O2 is added to EIS (one or two drops per glass of EIS), it will be
noted that there is an immediate clearing effect. The Tyndall (what you see if
you shine a laser pointer though the liquid) will become very faint as well. If
the ppm of the EIS is sufficiently high (25 to 30 ppm) a white cloudy
precipitate may form as well.

There are a number of reactions that occur. H2O2 is normally thought of as an
oxidizer, but it can act as a reducer as well. Also silver is considered a
catalyst for H2O2, but in actuality gets directly involved in the reactions.

The H2O2 reacts with the silver particles, producing ionic silver, a
combination of silver hydroxide and silver oxide. This makes the large particles
disappear, reducing the tyndall. However H2O2 also reacts with the silver oxide
and silver hydroxide producing a 2 atom colloid of silver plus oxygen (and water
in the case of silver hydroxide). Over time this 2 atom colloidal particle can
end up being converted back to silver oxide and silver hydroxide, and so forth.
The final result is a mixture of ionic silver (hydroxide and oxide) and very
small colloidal particles. Thus if you add H2O2 to freshly made EIS, you can
sometimes see the oxygen bubble off, and the tyndall may change significantly.
But more importantly, the particulate portion of the EIS will go from being
medium or large particles to many more very small particles, and the particle
content will increase from a typical 5-15% to around 30-50%. If you have a
strong tyndall from large particles, it will decrease, and if you have a weak or
no tyndall it will increase with the formation of the 2 atom particles. This
enhances absorption, as well as effectiveness. Note that it is recommended to
let the EIS sit for 5 or more minutes after adding the H2O2 to let it stabilize.
Also some experts recommend letting EIS age for 2 or more days before adding the
H2O2, and experiments by me indicate a more consistant effect if this is done.
For some images of the effect H2O2 has on silver particles see
Hydrogen Peroxide and Colloidal
Silver Micrographs

One study group, as reported by Brooks Bradley, found that mixing 1/3 EIS
with 2/3 Gatorade enhanced the absorption of the EIS significantly. I undertook
an analysis to find why this is so and believe it is due to the solubility of
AgCl in water with additonal chlorine ions present. Normal theory indicates that
in the presence of chloride ions, the solubility of silver chloride drops. In
fact it drops from about .8 ppm to about .2 ppm in the concentration of these
ions in the stomach and blood.

However that ignores that silver will form soluble complexes of chloride when
there is an excessive amount of chlorine in the liquid. The result is that as
you increase the hydrochloric acid or salt in water the solubility of silver
chloride decreases significantly, but then begins increasing again, so that when
it reaches the level in the stomach and blood it is right back to .8 ppm again.

So if you take EIS by mouth, it dilutes the stomach acid so that the
solubility of silver chloride is reduced to below .8 ppm. But if you mix it with
an electrolyte solution, such as Gatorade, it forms complexes with the chlorides
so that solubility is maintained and that improves the absorption into the blood
by several times.

An althernative theory proposed by Ode Coyote is that water is absorbed
slowly by the stomach since the body has to maintain the correct electrolyte
balance in the blood. However Gatorade with the proper electrolyte content is
absorbed much faster since it matchs the blood levels, and thus carries the
colloidal portion into the blood immediately, and also allows transfer of the
silver chloride at a much faster rate as well. Although both theories are
completely different, fact is that the actual action is most likely due to both.

Note that adding Gatorade increases the speed that EIS is absorbed into the
blood. Thus for food poisoning, or attacking pathogens in the stomach or
intestines, Gatorade should NOT be used since you want the EIS to remain in the
stomach as long as possible. Bob Lee did an experiment on using CS for food
poisoning that is quite a remarkable tale. A reprint of his essay is
Here.

If you add a small amount of H2O2 (1 drop to 4 to 8 oz) to the EIS and let
site for 15 minutes, then add the Gatorade and drink immediately, then you
should be able to get both effects. Do NOT add the H2O2 and Gatorade at the same
time, or you will end up changing all the colloidal silver to silver chloride
which would NOT be good.

Ionic silver has the proven ability to cause DNA to dedifferentiate or revert
back to stem cells (See The Electric Body by Robert Becker). Normally
once DNA has expressed certain genes, it cannot return, so once a cell is skin,
or a blood cell, it cannot morph to another cell type. Now, if you apply silver
ions to a burn or an injury, the blood cells can convert to the necessary skin,
nerve and other cell types as needed. Without it, they can only form scar
tissue. So using an EIS that has ionic content promotes healing without
scarring. I personally cut the end off of my thumb and kept the stub wet with
EIS for days. The result was a complete regrowth with fingerprint, so now I
can't even tell which thumb was cut. Burns, even 3rd degree burns, can heal
without scarring when silver ions are present. This is used by many burn units
now, with such products as Silverlon bandages
and acticoat.

As stated above the colloidal component provides sites for the silver
chloride to precipitate out on that are numerous, and in the blood. Without
them, they would be photoreduced in the skin, then plating out on those few
particles can cause them to grow rapidly and get caught causing argyria.

Now we are getting into an area that is not nearly as clear cut as the above.
That it does kill microbes, and disable viruses is a fact, but how it does it is
still up to dispute. The following are some theories.

1. Silver particles are an
oxidizing catalyst, and
as such oxidize pathogens killing them. This is how H2O2 works as well.
2. Silver interferes with the microbe's
respiration.
3. Silver ties up or disables the sulfur in the microbe.
3. Silver short out the electrostatic fields in the cell

Most of the above would not apply to viruses though. Instead the
possibilities for disabling viruses are:

1. Silver particles are an oxidizing catalyst and oxidize the virus killing
it.
2. Silver causes the virus DNA or RNA to revert back to being undifferentiated,
and without the proper expression for that host is disabled.
3. Silver repairs the broken (segment of) DNA of a virus, making it complete,
but no longer a functional virus which by design has an incomplete DNA.

As outlined above argyria is caused by the photographic process. Silver
salts/compounds are exposed to light in the skin and reduced to silver atoms. If
the level of salts is sufficiently low, the atoms are swept out of the skin by
the blood flow and everything is fine. If however the level of salts in the
blood is over some minimum level the atoms will increase in size as the silver
salts plate out on them, growing so rapidly that they will become stuck in the
tissues. This is the photographic development process. To prevent argyria it is
essential to keep blood levels of silver compounds below a threshold value. This
is done by taking a combination of both silver compounds and colloidal silver
(the composition of EIS), so that when the silver salts plate out, there are
huge numbers of silver particles in the colloid present so that growth of any
particle (even those formed in the skin by the sun) is minimized, and no
particle grows large enough to get stuck.

Some people who have taken large amounts of EIS (several quarts or more a
day) have reported blueing of the
moons of their fingernails.
This can occur when the level of EIS exceeds some amount, which seems to vary
depending on the person, and whether they are deficient in vitamin E and
selenium or not. Vitamin E and selenium have a prophylactic effect on argyria,
and on the blueing of the fingernail roots. Apparently taking silver over time
can also cause a loss of selenium and even a deficiency. If you take EIS over
long periods of time it is suggested that you supplement your selenium intake (
Natural sources of selenium are listed at
Dietary Supplement Fact
Sheet: Selenium, and Brazil nuts are very high in selenium). Anyway, the
body disposes of silver by several routes ( see http://www.silvermedicine.org/AltmanStudy.pdf
), the kidneys, the liver, sweating, and by putting metals into hair and nails.
The body collects excess amounts of metals in the nail bed to allow it to put
those in the nails. If concentrations exceed some amount in the nail bed, then
aggregation can occur, causing the nail bed to turn blue. Although this appears
to be argyria of the fingernail moons, the mechanism is totally different. Also
it is probably a pretty good warning that you might be taking more silver than
you should, and unless you are taking it for a chronic condition, should cut
back, and/or you should supplement with selenium.

Note that although the medical community considers argyria permanent, there
have been some successes reported by taking selenium, Vitamin E and Vitamin C.
Because of the nature of argyria, EIS will not cause argyria, but can make it
worse if you already have it. The reason is that EIS contains particles that
quickly reduce any silver salt levels in the blood so that any silver seed
particles formed in the skin are unable to grow enough to get stuck. However if
you already have particles in the skin that are stuck, then ANY silver compounds
in the blood at all will over time plate out on those particles making them grow
even larger. That is why some people who have gotten argyria (from other sources
than EIS, such as silver citrate, attempting to make EIS with tap water, silver
nitrate nose drops, silver acetate smoking gum/lozenge or MSP) and have managed
to get rid of the argyria's color using selenium, vitamin A and C, find that it
tends to return even when taking high quality EIS. That is because the protocol
is reducing the particle sizes to where they no longer absorb light, but not to
the point of getting them unstuck in the skin. If the protocol is continued
without any silver intake over a long enough period it might be possible to
eliminte these seed particles completely, but at this point there is no data on
this.

There have been reports that the following protocol is capable of eliminating
argyria:

This protocol is found at http://www.silverprotects.com/argyria.html

1. 200mcg of selenium per day is a safe supplement to take on an ongoing
basis.
2. He also advises a high-quality,* mixed vitamin E, at 1000 IU per day for
people over 50 years of age who may be at risk of stroke, and 2,000 IU per day
for people under 50 who are not at risk of stroke. I told Dr. Gruenn that I was
taking 4,000 IU a day. He replied that this was still safe for a strong healthy
person. The danger of high doses of vitamin E is that it thins the blood. This
could be dangerous in many situations where bleeding is hard to stop.
3. Personally, I would also drink lots of water, simply because that's how the
body clears out debris. No one knows if this therapy will prove efficacious, or
if it does in how many cases. If my liver spots are any kind of indicator, some
lightening of t he skin ought to be visible within six weeks if this therapy
really is working. Three to six months should be a sufficient amount of time to
completely eliminate argyria provided that no additional silver is being
ingested. (Since my conversation with Dr. Gruenn, I've had some additional ideas
for getting the most out of this nutritional therapy for argyria.)
4. 2 tsp. of MSM per day. Sulfur (MSM) binds with silver and can help to pull it
from the body. More information on silver and sulfur can be found on page 74.
5. 4,000 mg. of vitamin C per day.
6. 1 tablet a day of a good quality multiple mineral since this therapy may
deplete needed minerals from the body.

* Most vitamin E supplements are of poor quality and some even contain rancid
oils that will be an additional burden rather than an aid to the body. Dr.
Gruenn recommends a vitamin E that has a mix of d-alpha, beta, delta and gamma
tocopherols. (Avoid tocopheryls, which are artifical and will not work).

D.M., Portland, ME (the argyria cure only)

Marshall Dudley

This paper is provided as a research tool for those wanting to research and
understand colloidal silver. No claims are made to it's accuracy or suitibility
for any use. If there are any errors found we will be happy to correct them.